Darwin/ˈdɑrwɨn/[3] is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin is the largest city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, with a population of 136,245.[1] It is the smallest and most northerly of the Australian capital cities, and acts as the Top End's regional centre. Darwin was originally a pioneer outpost.

Darwin's proximity to South East Asia makes it an important Australian gateway to countries such as Indonesia and East Timor. The Stuart Highway begins in Darwin, ending at Port Augusta in South Australia. The city itself is built on a low bluff overlooking the harbour. Its suburbs spread out over some area, beginning at Lee Point in the north and stretching to Berrimah in the east. Past Berrimah, the Stuart Highway goes on to Darwin's satellite city, Palmerston, and its suburbs. The Darwin region, like the rest of the Top End, has a tropical climate, with a wet and a dry season. The city is noted for its consistently warm to hot climate, all throughout the year. Prone to cyclone activity during the wet season, Darwin experiences heavy monsoonal downpours and spectacular lightning shows.[4] During the dry season, the city is met with blue skies and gentle sea breezes from the picturesque harbour.

The greater Darwin area is the ancestral home of the Larrakia people. On 9 September 1839, HMS Beagle sailed into Darwin harbour during its surveying of the area. John Clements Wickham named the region "Port Darwin" in honour of their former shipmate Charles Darwin, who had sailed with them on the ship's previous voyage which had ended in October 1836. The settlement there became the town of Palmerston in 1869, and was renamed Darwin in 1911.[5] Having been almost entirely rebuilt twice, once due to Japanese air raids during World War II, and again after being devastated by Cyclone Tracy in 1974, the city is one of Australia's most modern capitals.[6][7]

The Aboriginal people of the Larrakia language group are the traditional custodians and the first inhabitants of the greater Darwin area.[8] They had trading routes with Southeast Asia (see Macassan contact with Australia), and imported goods from as far afield as South and Western Australia. Established songlines penetrated throughout the country, allowing stories and histories to be told and retold along the routes.

In early 1875 Darwin's European population had grown to approximately 300 because of the gold rush. On 17 February 1875 the SS Gothenburg left Darwin en route for Adelaide. The approximately 88 passengers and 34 crew (surviving records vary) included government officials, circuit-court judges, Darwin residents taking their first furlough, and miners. While travelling south along the north Queensland coast, the Gothenburg encountered a cyclone-strength storm and was wrecked on a section of the Great Barrier Reef. Only 22 men survived, while between 98 and 112 people perished. Many passengers who perished were Darwin residents and news of the tragedy severely affected the small community, which reportedly took several years to recover.[9]

Around 10,000 Australian and other Allied troops arrived in Darwin at the outset of World War II, in order to defend Australia's northern coastline. On 19 February 1942 at 0957, 188 Japanese warplanes attacked Darwin in two waves. It was the same fleet that had bombed Pearl Harbor, though a considerably larger number of bombs were dropped on Darwin than on Pearl Harbor. The attack killed at least 243 people and caused immense damage to the town. These were by far the most serious attacks on Australia in time of war, in terms of fatalities and damage. They were the first of many raids on Darwin.

Despite this major attack, Darwin's development was furthered considerably during the war, with sealed roads constructed connecting the region to Alice Springs in the south and Mount Isa in the south-east, and Manton Dam built in the south to provide the city with water. On Australia Day (26 January) 1959, Darwin was granted city status.[10]

On 25 December 1974, Darwin was struck by Cyclone Tracy, which killed 71 people and destroyed over 70% of the town's buildings, including many old stone buildings such as the Palmerston Town Hall, which could not withstand the lateral forces generated by the strong winds. After the disaster, 30,000 people of a then population of 43,000 were evacuated, in what turned out to be the biggest airlift in Australia's history.[6] The town was subsequently rebuilt with newer materials and techniques during the late 1970s by the Darwin Reconstruction Commission, led by former Brisbane Lord Mayor Clem Jones. A satellite city of Palmerston was built 20 km (12 mi) south of Darwin in the early 1980s.

On 17 September 2003 the Adelaide–Darwin railway was completed, with the opening of the Alice Springs-Darwin standard gauge line.

Darwin lies in the Northern Territory, on the Timor Sea. The city proper occupies a low bluff overlooking Darwin Harbour, flanked by Frances Bay to the east and Cullen Bay to the west. The remainder of the city is flat and low-lying, and coastal areas are home to recreational reserves, extensive beaches, and excellent fishing.

Darwin and its suburbs spread in an approximately triangular shape, with the older south-western suburbs—and the city itself—forming one corner, the newer northern suburbs in another, and the eastern suburbs, progressing towards Palmerston, forming the third.

The older part of Darwin is separated from the newer northern suburbs by Darwin International Airport and Royal Australian Air Force Base. Palmerston is a satellite city 20 km (12 mi) south of Darwin that was established in the 1980s and is one of the fastest growing municipalities in Australia.[12] The rural areas of Darwin including Howard Springs, Humpty Doo and Berry Springs are experiencing strong growth.[13]

Mitchell Street in Darwin CBD

Darwin's central business district is bounded by Daly Street in the north-west, McMinn Street in the north-east, Mitchell Street on the south-west and Bennett Street on the south-east. The CBD has been the focus of a number of major projects, including the billion dollar redevelopment of the Stokes Hill wharf waterfront area including a convention centre with seating for 1500 people and approximately 4,000 square metres (43,000 sq ft) of exhibition space. The development will also include hotels, residential apartments and public space.[14] The city's main industrial areas are along the Stuart Highway going towards Palmerston, centred on Winnellie. The largest shopping precinct in the area is Casuarina Square.

The most expensive residential areas stand along the coast in suburbs such as Larrakeyah and Brinkin,[15] despite the slight risk these low-lying regions face during cyclones and higher tides.[16] The inner northern suburbs of Millner and Coconut Grove and the eastern suburb of Karama are home to lower-income households, although low-income Territory Housing units are scattered throughout the metropolitan area.[17] The suburb of Lyon was an addition to the Northern Suburbs. Development and constructor took place in 2009 and 2010 and became home for a number of affluent Darwin residents and local/recently posted military families above the rank of Sergeant or Flying Officer.

Darwin has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw)[18][19] with distinct wet and dry seasons and the average maximum temperature is remarkably similar all year round. The dry season runs from about May to September, during which nearly every day is warm and sunny, and afternoon humidity averages around 30%.[20]

There is very little rainfall between May and September. In the coolest months of June and July, the daily minimum temperature may dip as low as 14 °C (57 °F), but very rarely lower, and a temperature lower than 10 °C (50 °F) has never been recorded in the city centre. Outer suburbs away from the coast however can occasionally record temperatures as low as 5 °C (41 °F) in the dry season. For an exceedingly lengthy 147 day period during the 2012 dry season, from 5 May to 29 September, Darwin recorded no precipitation whatsoever. Prolonged periods of no precipitation are common in the dry season in Northern Australia (particularly in the Northern Territory and northern regions of Western Australia) although a no-rainfall event of this extent is rare. The 3pm dewpoint average in the wet season is at around 24.0 °C (75.2 °F).[20]

The highest temperature recorded in Darwin was 40.4 °C (104.7 °F) on 17 October 1892 at the Darwin Post Office station, while the lowest was 10.4 °C (50.7 °F) on 29 July 1942 at the Darwin Airport station, which is further from the coast and routinely records cooler temperatures than the post office station which is located in Darwin's CBD. The lowest maximum temperature on record was 18.4 °C (65.1 °F) on 3 June 1904 while the highest minimum was 30.7 °C (87.3 °F) on 18 January 1928.[20][21]

The wet season is associated with tropical cyclones and monsoon rains.[22] The majority of rainfall occurs between December and March (the southern hemisphere summer), when thunderstorms are common and afternoon relative humidity averages over 70 percent during the wettest months.[20] It does not rain every day during the wet season, but most days are warm to hot with plentiful cloud cover; January averages under 6 hours of bright sunshine daily. Darwin's highest Bureau of Meteorology verified daily rainfall total is 367.6 millimetres (14.47 in), which fell when Cyclone Carlos bore down on the Darwin area on 16 February 2011.[23] February 2011 was also Darwin's wettest month ever recorded, with 1,110.2 millimetres (43.71 in) recorded for the month at the airport.[20]

The hottest month is November, just before the onset of the main rainy season. Because of its long dry season, Darwin has the most daily average sunshine hours (8.4) of any Australian capital with the most sunshine from April to November. The sun passes directly overhead in mid October and mid February.[24] Climatically Darwin has more in common with Manila than Sydney because it sits well inside the tropical zone.

Darwin occupies one of the most lightning-prone areas in Australia. On 31 January 2002 an early-morning squall line produced over 5,000 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes within a 60-kilometre (37 mi) radius of Darwin alone – about three times the amount of lightning that Perth, Western Australia, experiences on average in an entire year.[4][25]

In 2006, the largest ancestry groups in Darwin were, Australian (42,221 or 36.9%), English (29,766 or 26%), Irish (9,561 or 8.3%), Scottish (7,815 or 6.8%), Chinese (3,502 or 3%), Greek (2,828 or 2.4%), and Italian (2,367 or 2%)[30]

Darwin's population is notable for the highest proportional population of Aborigines of any Australian capital city.[31][not in citation given] In the 2006 census 10,259 (9.7 per cent) of Darwin's population was Aboriginal.

Darwin's population changed after the Second World War. Darwin, like many other Australian cities, experienced influxes from Europe, with significant numbers of Italians and Greeks during the 1960s and 1970s. Darwin also started to experience an influx from other European countries, which included the Dutch, Germans, and many others.[32] A significant percentage of Darwin's residents are recent immigrants from South East Asia (Asian Australians were 9.3% of Darwin's population in 2001).

Darwin's population comprises people from many ethnic backgrounds. The 2006 Census revealed that the most common places of birth for overseas migrants were the United Kingdom (3.4 per cent), New Zealand (2.1 per cent), the Philippines (1.4 per cent) and East Timor (0.9 per cent). 18.3 percent of the city's population was born overseas, which is less than the Australian average of 22%.[31]

Darwin has a youthful population with an average age of 33 years (compared to the national average of around 37 years)[33] assisted to a large extent by the military presence and the fact that many people opt to retire elsewhere.[34]

Darwin is essentially a multicultural secular city, however, Christianity has the most adherents in Darwin with 56,613 followers accounting for 49.5 per cent of the population of the city.[35] The largest denominations of Christianity are Roman Catholicism (24,538 or 21.5 per cent), Anglicanism (14,028 or 12.3 per cent) and Greek Orthodox (2,964 or 2.6 per cent).[36] Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus and Jews account for 3.2 per cent of Darwin's population. There were 26,695 or 23.3 per cent of people professing no religion.

Darwin is one of the fastest growing capital cities in Australia, with an annual growth rate of 2.6 per cent since the 2006 census. In recent years, the Palmerston and Litchfield parts of the Darwin statistical division have recorded the highest growth in population of any Northern Territory local government area and by 2016 Litchfield could overtake Palmerston as the second largest municipality in metropolitan Darwin.[37] It is predicted by 2021 that the combined population of both Palmerston and Litchfield would be 101,546 people.[38]

The Darwin City Council (Incorporated under the Northern Territory Local Government Act 1993) governs the City of Darwin which takes in the CBD and the suburbs. The Darwin City Council has governed the City of Darwin since 1957. The Darwin City Council consists of 13 elected members, the Lord Mayor and 12 aldermen.

The City of Darwin electorate is organised into four electoral units or wards. The names of the wards are Chan, Lyons, Richardson, and Waters. The constituents of each ward are directly responsible for electing three aldermen. Constituents of all wards are directly responsible for electing the Lord Mayor of Darwin.[39] The mayor is Katrina Fong Lim after council elections in March 2012.[40]

The rest of the Darwin area is divided into 2 local government areas. One of these is designated as a City, and the second, which is on the city's outer fringe, has the title of Shire. These areas have elected councils which are responsible for functions delegated to them by the Northern Territory Government, such as planning and garbage collection.

Also located on the Esplanade is the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory. Darwin has a Magistrate's Court also which is located on the corner of Cavenagh and Bennett Streets quite close to the Darwin City Council Chambers. Darwin's police force are members of the Northern Territory Police Force. Darwin's Mitchell Street, with its numerous pubs, clubs and other entertainment venues, is policed by the CitySafe Unit. The CitySafe unit was recently credited with reducing violent crime in and around Darwin City.[41] Darwin has a long record of alcohol abuse and violent crime with 6000 assaults in 2009,[42] of which 350 resulted in broken jaws and noses – more than anywhere else in the world, according to the Royal Darwin Hospital.[42]

The two largest economic sectors are mining and tourism. Mining and energy industry production exceeds $2.5 billion per annum.[43] The most important mineral resources are gold, zinc and bauxite, along with manganese and many others. The energy production is mostly off shore with oil and natural gas from the Timor Sea, although there are significant uranium deposits near Darwin. Tourism employs 8% of Darwin residents, and is expected to grow as domestic and international tourists are now spending time in Darwin during the Wet and Dry seasons. Federal spending is a major contributor to the local economy as well.

The military presence that is maintained both within Darwin, and the wider Northern Territory, is a substantial source of employment. The continued involvement of the Australian Army in the stabilisation of East Timor has swelled the military population of Darwin to over 11,000 individuals as of 2001. There is also a substantial United Nations presence in Darwin, since Darwin serves as the staging centre for UN workers and contractors en route to nearby East Timor.

Darwin's importance as a port is expected to grow, due to the increased exploitation of petroleum in the nearby Timor Sea, and to the completion of the railway link and continued expansion in trade with Asia.

During 2005, a number of major construction projects started in Darwin. One is the redevelopment of the Wharf Precinct, which includes a large convention and exhibition centre, apartment housing including Outrigger Pandanas and Evolution on Gardiner, retail and entertainment outlets including a large wave pool and safe swimming lagoon. The Chinatown project has also started with plans to construct multi-level carparks, Chinese-themed retail and dining outlets.[44]

Education is overseen territory-wide by the Department of Education and Training (DET), whose role is to continually improve education outcomes for all students, with a focus on Indigenous students.[45]

Darwin is served by a number of public and private schools that cater to local and overseas students. Over 16,500 primary and secondary students are enrolled in schools in Darwin, with 10,524 students attending primary education, and 5,932 students attending secondary education.[46] There are over 12,089 students enrolled in government schools and 2,124 students enrolled in independent schools.[46]

There were 9,764 students attending schools in the City of Darwin area. 6,045 students attended primary schools and 3,719 students attended secondary schools. There are over 7,161 students enrolled in government schools and 1,108 students enrolled in independent schools.[47] There are over 35 primary and pre – schools, and 12 secondary schools including both government and non-government. Most schools in the city are secular, but there are a small number of Christian, Catholic and Lutheran institutions. Students intending to complete their secondary education can work towards either the Northern Territory Certificate of Education or the International Baccalaureate (only offered at Kormilda College). Schools have been restructured into Primary, Middle and High schools since the beginning of 2007.

Darwin's largest University is the Charles Darwin University, which is the central provider of tertiary education in the Northern Territory. It covers both vocational and academic courses, acting as both a university and an Institute of TAFE. There are over 5,500 students enrolled in tertiary and further education courses.[47]

On 1 July, Territorians celebrate Territory Day. This is the only day of the year, apart from the Chinese New Year, when fireworks are permitted. In Darwin, the main celebrations occur at Mindil Beach, where a large firework display is commissioned by the government.

Weekly markets include Mindil Beach Sunset Markets[48] (Thursdays and Sundays during the dry season), Parap Market, Nightcliff Market and Rapid Creek market.[49] Mindil Beach Sunset Markets are very popular with locals and tourists alike and feature food, souvenirs, clothes and local performing artists.

The Darwin Festival[50] held annually, includes comedy, dance, theatre, music, film and visual art and the NT Indigenous Music Awards. Other festivals include the Glenti, which showcases Darwin's large Greek community, and India@Mindil, a similar festival held by the smaller Indian community. The Chinese New Year is also celebrated with great festivity, highlighting the Asian influence in Darwin.

The Seabreeze festival, which first started in 2005, is held on the second week of May in the suburb of Nightcliff. It offers the opportunity for local talent to be showcased and a popular event is Saturday family festivities along the Nightcliff foreshore which is one of Darwin's most popular fitness tracks.[51][52]

The Darwin beer-can regatta, held in August, celebrates Darwin's love affair with beer and contestants' race boats made exclusively of beer cans. Also in Darwin during the month of August, are the Darwin Cup horse race, and the Rodeo and Mud Crab Tying Competition.

The World Solar Challenge race attracts teams from around the world, most of which are fielded by universities or corporations although some are fielded by high schools. The race has a 20-year history spanning nine races, with the inaugural event taking place in 1987.

The Darwin Symphony Orchestra was first assembled in 1989,[53] and has performed throughout the Territory. The Darwin Theatre Company is a locally produced professional theatre production company, performing locally and nationally.[54]

The Northern Territory Museum and Art Gallery[58] (MAGNT) in Darwin gives an overview of the history of the area, including exhibits on Cyclone Tracy and the boats of the Pacific Islands. The MAGNT also organises the annual Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award, the oldest and most prestigious Indigenous art award in Australia. The MAGNT also manages the Defence of Darwin Experience, a multi-media installation that tells the story of the Japanese air raids on Darwin during World War II.

The Darwin Festival and the Darwin Fringe Festival are annual events. A range of art galleries including specialised Aboriginal art galleries are a feature of Darwin.

Mitchell Street in the central business district is lined with nightclubs, takeaways, and restaurants. This is the city's entertainment hub. There are several smaller theatres, three cinema complexes (CBD, Casuarina, and Palmerston), and the Deckchair Cinema.[62] This is an open-air cinema which operates through the dry season, from April to October, and screens independent and arthouse films.

The city has many kilometres of wide, unpolluted beaches, including the Casuarina Beach and well renowned Mindil Beach, home of the Mindil Beach markets. Darwin City Council has designated an area of Casuarina Beach as a free beach which offers a designated nudist beach area since 1976.[63] Swimming in the sea during the months of October–May should be avoided due to the presence of deadly box jellyfish, known locally as stingers.

Saltwater crocodiles are very common in all waterways surrounding Darwin and are even occasionally found swimming in Darwin Harbour and on local beaches.

Fishing is one of the recreations of Darwin locals. Visitors from around the world flock to Darwin aiming to catch the prized barramundi, an iconic fish for the region. The Mary River, Daly River, South and East Alligator River are just a few of the water bodies where the barramundi thrive.

Blue-water fishing is also available off the coast of Darwin; Spanish mackerel, Black Jewfish, queenfish, snapper and other varieties are all found in the area and accessible in a day trip from Darwin. Lake Alexander is a man-made swimming lake which is located at East Point Reserve. It is generally considered crocodile and jellyfish safe, however a freak outbreak of non-deadly jellyfish in 2003 caused its closure for a brief period of time.[64]

Rugby League and Rugby Union club competitions are played in Darwin each year, organised by the NTRL and NTRU respectively. The Heineken Hottest 7s in the World tournament is hosted in Darwin each January, with Rugby Sevens club teams from countries including Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, and Singapore competing. Darwin's Hottest 7s is the richest Rugby 7s tournament in the Southern Hemisphere.[68]

The Darwin Cup culminating on the first Monday of August is a very popular horse race event for Darwin and draws large crowds every year to Fannie Bay Racecourse. While it is not as popular as the Melbourne Cup, it does draw a crowd and, in 2003, Sky Racing began televising most of the races. The Darwin Cup day is a public holiday for the Northern Territory (Picnic Day public holiday).

The Territory's public transport services are managed by the Department of Lands and Planning, Public Transport Division. Darwin has a bus network serviced by a range of contracted bus operators, which provides transport to the main suburbs of Darwin.[citation needed]

Darwin has no commuter rail system, however long distance passenger rail services do operate out of the city. The Alice Springs to Darwin rail line was completed in 2003 linking Darwin to Adelaide. The first service ran in 2004. The Ghan passenger train service from Adelaide via Alice Springs and Katherine runs two to three times per week depending on the season.

Darwin can be reached via the Stuart Highway which runs the length of the Northern Territory from Darwin through Katherine, Tennant Creek, Alice Springs and on to Adelaide. Other major roads in Darwin include, Tiger Brennan Drive, Amy Johnson Avenue, Dick Ward Drive, Bagot Road, Trower Road and McMillans Road. Bus service in the greater Darwin area is served by Darwinbus.

Ferries leave from Port Darwin to island locations, mainly for tourists. A ferry service to the Tiwi Islands, the Arafura Pearl operates from Cullen Bay.

Darwin has a new deepwater port, East Arm Wharf, which opened in 2000. It has 754-meters of wharfline and is capable of handling Panamax-sized ships of a maximum length of 274 meters and a DWT of up to 80,000 tonnes.[70]

Water storage, supply and Power for Darwin is managed by Power and Water Corporation, which is owned by the Government of the Northern Territory. The corporation is also responsible for management of sewage and the major water catchments in the region. Water is mainly stored in the largest dam, The Darwin River Dam which holds up to 90% of Darwin's water supply. For many years, Darwin's principal water supply came from Manton Dam.

Darwin, its suburbs, Palmerston and Katherine are powered by the Channel Island Power Station, The largest power plant in the Northern Territory.

A new power plant, the Weddell Power Station, is near completion. The first two generators came on line in 2008–09. The third generator is due to be completed in 2011–12. When the power station is fully operational, it will add 30% capacity to Darwin's power supply.[71]

Tourism is one of Darwin's largest industries. Tourism is a major industry and employment sector for the Northern Territory. In 2005/06, 1.38 million people visited the Northern Territory. They stayed for 9.2 million nights and spent over $1.5 billion.[72] The tourism industry directly employed 8,391 Territorians in June 2006 and when indirect employment is included, tourism typically accounts for more than 14,000 jobs across the Territory.

Darwin is a hub for tours to Kakadu National Park,[73]Litchfield National Park[74] and Katherine Gorge. The Territory is traditionally divided into the wet and dry, but there are up to six traditional seasons in Darwin. It is warm and sunny from May to September. Humidity rises during the green season, from October to April bringing thunderstorms and monsoonal rains which rejuvenates the landscape. Tourism is largely seasonal with most tourists visiting during the cooler dry season which runs from April to September.

Darwin has played host to many of aviation's early pioneers. On 10 December 1919 Captain Ross Smith and his crew landed in Darwin and won a £10,000 Prize from the Australian Government for completing the first flight from London to Australia in under thirty days. Smith and his Crew flew a Vickers Vimy, G-EAOU and landed on an airstrip that has now become Ross Smith Avenue.

The following is an excerpt from Time magazine, 29 October 1934, Volume XXIV, Number 18.

Third Day. Biggest sensation of the race came just before dawn on the third day, when burly Lieutenant Scott and dapper Captain Black flew their scarlet Comet into Darwin. They had covered the last 300 miles over water on one motor, risked death landing on a field made soggy by the first rain in seven months. Said sandy-haired Lieutenant Scott: "We've had a devil of a trip." But they had flown 9000 miles in two days, had broken the England to Australia record of 162 hr. in the unbelievable time of 52hr. 33 min., were only 2000 miles from their goal at Melbourne.

The Australian Aviation Heritage Centre is located approximately 8 km (5 mi) from the City centre on the Stuart Highway and is one of only two places outside the United States where a B52 bomber (on permanent loan from the United States Air Force) is on public display.[76][77]

On 16 November 2011, Prime Minister Julia Gillard and President Barack Obama announced that the United States would station troops in Australia for the first time since World War II. The agreement between the United States and Australia would involve a contingent of 250 Marines arriving in Darwin in 2012, with the total number rising to a maximum of 2,500 troops by 2017 on six-month rotations as well as a supporting air element including F-22 Raptors, F-35 Joint Strike Fighters and KC-135 refuelers.[78] China and Indonesia have expressed concern about the decision.[79][80] Some analysts have argued that an expanded U.S. presence could pose a threat to security, a view defence analyst Paul Dibb rejects, noting the deterrent effect of an offshore U.S. military presence in the 1999 East Timorese crisis which dissuaded Indonesia from directly attacking Australian peacekeepers.[81] Gillard announced that the first 200 U.S. Marines had arrived in Darwin from Hawaii on late 3 April 2012.[82] In 2013, further news of other expansion vectors was aired in USA media,[83] with no comment or confirmation from Australian authorities. The agreement between the two governments remains hidden from public scrutiny.[84] Marine numbers based in Darwin have increased to more than 1150 troops by 2014.[85]